Chapter 573

Lu Jinglve, is Guangtongzhou being guarded by your nephew?

Chen Wuji considered the feasibility of this matter and asked Lu Ping'an.

"Exactly." Lu Ping'an replied, "Guangtongzhou's strength is not weak; Yushan Prefecture had already submitted to the Qiang People long ago, and there seems to be a Qiang People detachment stationed in the city, but its strength should be relatively weak."

"It's embarrassing to say, but the intelligence I have on these two prefectures is limited; I can only give the general a vague answer, and I have no way of knowing the exact troop numbers."

Chen Wuji gave a slight nod and said to Lu Ji, "This battle doesn't need to be rushed; I have better candidates for these two prefectures; you can choose another two prefectures as your pledge tokens."

The reinforcements sent by Yang Yu are on the road; they've come all this way, we can't just let them leave.

Chen Wuji ought to show some hospitality; let them fight a battle or two first.

Both Guangtongzhou and Yushan Prefecture are not far away; they make a pretty good choice.

"General Chen, the pledge token had better be given sooner rather than later." Lu Ji said.

He is still a bit stubborn.

Although put tactfully, the meaning is quite clear.

"You, you're forcing me to speak frankly?" Chen Wuji, seeing that everyone still hadn't built any trust, had to say, "Yang Yu sent ten thousand reinforcements; I can't just let them make the trip for nothing. Let's leave these two prefectures to them, give the troops of San Guan Jun a chance to shine, and we can also see what kind of troops Yang Jinglve has brought out."

Lu Ji:???

Lu Ping'an raised his head in sudden realization, his eyes full of shock.

His face twitched slightly, then he shook his head with a wry smile: "I thought I had figured out a lot; when discussing with Lu Ji and the others, I felt full of confidence, victory in hand. I never expected that I would actually be the dish served up, General Chen being this strong already, yet still so cautious... I'm convinced, truly convinced."

"I must thank General Chen for that beating, and also thank my own impulsiveness!"

Chen Wuji waved his hand: "No need for that; we're already on the same side, this matter should be discussed separately; you two just understand what I mean."

"You are surrendered soldiers, your thoughts will naturally be more numerous; I say this not with any other intention, only to put your minds at ease; afterwards, just pacify the troops."

Lu Ji's expression was complex; he clasped his fists firmly and said, "Yes!"

I had expected a stalemate, but it was settled easily and bloodlessly.

Afterwards, both sides withdrew their troops, and Chen Wuji led his forces to occupy Xie Fengxian's Daying.

At this time, the sun was high in the sky.

In Xie Fengxian's Zhongjun Camp, Chen Wuji sat casually in the seat of honor; to his right were Lu Ping'an, Lu Ji, and Xie Fengxian; to his left were Chen Baojia and Chen Ruoshui.

Even though Lu Ji and Xie Fengxian had surrendered, Chen Wuji still did not order that Bīngmǎ to be recalled.

Before the people's hearts are stabilized, keeping that Bīngmǎ there will always be a hidden reserve.

Necessary caution must be maintained.

Chen Wuji did not let down his guard even a bit because of their surrender.

Lu Ping'an merely sat for a moment, then turned into the tea-boiling old boy, personally brewing tea there.

"General Chen, I have something I've always wanted to say, but I couldn't figure out whether it's appropriate!" Lu Ping'an sat cross-legged beside the mud stove, personally staring at the kettle, hesitated a moment, then said.

"Old Lu, speak freely!" Chen Wuji said.

Constantly shouting "Lu Jinglve" is awkward to say and sounds unpleasant.

Now Chen Wuji also saw Lu Ping'an's attitude, so he simply gave him a new nickname.

The tea-boiling old Lu curled the corner of his mouth, showing he was happy with the nickname: "Yang Yu sent reinforcements to fight me; now that I've surrendered, his Bīngmǎ probably won't help the general anymore. Should we think of a way? For example, hide us somewhere, give them false intelligence, so they don't find out I've already surrendered."

"No need!" Chen Wuji waved.

"This Guangtongzhou is also your subordinate, Old Lu; the purpose is still the same—maybe we need a pretext to attack Yushan Prefecture."

Hiding Lu Ping'an and his people would also work; maybe things would go more smoothly.

But he had no intention of doing that.

Lu Ping'an's evaluation of Yang Yu gave Chen Wuji a heads-up; he wanted to take this opportunity to see Yang Yu's reaction.

Lu Ping'an had surrendered, and to a certain extent he had already become the strongest force in Nan Jun; the reaction of his neighbor Yang Yu would be crucial going forward, especially since they still have a business matter pending, making this all the more urgent.

"Come on, get familiar, why all the long faces? Don't be so solemn." Chen Wuji laughed, raised his hand to gesture that everyone should eat and drink, saying, "Yesterday we were enemies, but today we are comrades-in-arms; on the battlefield we must entrust our backs to those beside us."

Under Chen Wuji's persuasion, the atmosphere gradually became lively, but everyone as a whole still seemed reserved.

In conversation, it was basically just polite pleasantries, and then the talk trailed off.

After lunch, Chen Wuji ordered the registers of Lu Ji's and Xie Fengxian's troops to be revised, removing some of the elderly and weak, issued them travel expenses on the spot, and ordered them to go home.

After extensive downsizing, Lu Ji's command became over six thousand, approaching seven thousand Bīngmǎ; Xie Fengxian's side fared slightly better, with not much change, still over three thousand.

After the downsizing, Chen Wuji gathered the entire army and announced, before everyone, the longstanding military pay and reward system of Hezhou.

Such a huge bundle of benefits dropped, and the resistance of these two surrendered armies was almost instantly resolved by half; the remaining half is probably just suspicion.

After all, what Chen Wuji is saying now hasn't turned into hard cash yet; when it lands in their hands, they suspect Chen Wuji fully understands.

When the pay is issued, these doubts will naturally disappear, so there's no need to worry excessively.

This matter continued until near dusk before it ended.

The whole process isn't actually complicated; it's just that Chen Wuji likes to probe into the soldiers, chatting with everyone about their family matters and learning about their military experience, and so on.

This chatting makes the time long.

Lu Ping'an, Lu Ji, and General Xie Fengxian have always stayed by Chen Wuji's side.

Seeing Chen Wuji casually sit on the grass, they struck up a homely chat with seven or eight soldiers; the expressions of the three of them all showed varying degrees of complexity.

None of the three of them knew the things the soldiers were saying.

In Chen Wuji's ongoing conversations, Lu Ping'an's Dao heart broke again.

He again discovered a major shortcoming of his own.

To him, soldiers are just a number.

He never realized that behind those books there were so many stories.